Sachtler
Worked with ROI-DNA (digital agency) & the US division of Sachtler to redesign their existing website.
What I did: Information architecture, Interaction design
Project goal
Redesign the Sachtler website to introduce more structure within product lines and showcase the stories behind the professionals who use these products.
Understanding the existing structure
My first goal was fully comprehend the existing product taxonomy and begin to formulate a structure that would help not only new customers to the site, but also allow for existing customers to easily find the information they were accustomed to (ie: replacement parts, product manuals)
We regularly met with Sachtler to understand how their customers were using the existing site and identified existing pain points the new IA needed to solve. I created several iterations of the sitemap which we presented to Sachtler, each time ensuring that the proposed structure aligned with their current and future business needs.
The final iteration introduce more consistency throughout the site by establishing a defined hierarchy centered around product line landing pages. Sections for customer-created content was included to help tell the story behind Sachtler products.
Ideation
Over the course of several working sessions, we identified key sections to focus on which would give the best overview of the proposed redesign. I tailored the designs around improving the flow of information and introduced new ways to surface product offerings for customers (ie: linking to product pages directly from customer stories and incorporating social media feeds).
I presented the ideas for each of these key sections to Sachtler and once we had sufficient buy-in, proceeded to create wireframes for each of the pages within these sections.
REDESIGN / Content creator feature
ORIGINAL
Redesign goals
- Make it responsive
- Consolidate copy
- Use engaging imagery
- Incorporate social media
- Improve product hierarchy
- Tell a story with the products
Updating search
Sachler informed us that users primarily relied on search for finding products. The new site structure would help balance out this dependence and encourage discovery but we wanted to be sure search still received several enhancements by introducing: imagery, advanced filtering, and sorting functionality.
REDESIGN / Search results
ORIGINAL
Modular layouts
Through discussions with Sachtler, we discovered a wide disparity among the content used for their product offerings. I designed a module library for use on product pages to avoid a scenario where these pages would look incomplete if information wasn’t available. This solution would allow Sachtler to mix-and-match modules based on available content for each specific product.
Final thoughts
Over the course of 5 weeks I collaborated with Sachtler to design responsive screens for their complete website. The new changes introduced improved navigation, stronger customer voice, structured product families, and greater use of media (ie: video, photos, social).
The US division of Sachtler was pleased with the new site structure and layouts, however near the completion of the project we were notified that the German division of Sachtler had determined it wasn’t the right time to update the company’s site so the project was put on hold. I’m still pleased with the designs I created and the quick turnaround I was able to provide based on their feedback.
